Mal’s advice for Bill on Trump

Malcolm Turnbull has lectured Bill Shorten on foreign policy after he described US presidential candidate Donald Trump as ‘barking mad’. However, Turnbull freely expressed his opinion yesterday on Britain remaining in the European Union.

In March 2016, Christopher Pyne said of Donald Trump, “Donald Trump is “terrifying” and is making American democracy look “kind of weird.”

In 2007, Prime Minister John Howard commented on US presidential candidate, Barack Obama, saying, “If I was running al-Qaeda in Iraq, I would put a circle around March 2008 and pray, as many times as possible, for a victory not only for Obama, but also for the Democrats.”

Earlier this year, Howard said he ‘trembles’ at the thought of Trump becoming president and yesterday described described him as ‘unstable’.

The Cambodia Herald, September 26, 2014: “The MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) was signed between Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sar Kheng, and Australia’s Immigration Minister Scott Morrison who is in Cambodia for a two-day visit.”

Green energy, red tape

Government hurdles and obstacles across the country are holding up green energy projects. A campaign is underway to target marginal seats to make politicians take notice.

Question avoidance

ABC political journalist, Eliza Borrello has reported that at this morning’s Rockhampton press conference with Malcolm Turnbull and Barnaby Joyce, the journalists were segregated into regional and national groups. They then took questions from the regionals to avoid questions on Joyce’s increased asylum seeker boats from Indonesia due to the 2011 live export trade suspension. Federal MP for Capricornia, Michelle Landry, can be seen conferring with Joyce behind Turnbull before names of journalists on their right are shouted out above follow up questions.

Australians mostly opposed to foreign ownership

Mazoe Ford from the ABC’s Vote Compass election coverage team has found that despite the success of foreign investment for Queensland’s cotton farm, Cubbie Station, up to 80 percent of Australians think the Federal Government should restrict foreign ownership.

Telstra to manage health records

Mark Kenny reported, “The Turnbull government is pushing ahead with plans to place sensitive medical records under corporate management and will announce on Thursday that Telstra Health – a division of Telstra – has been awarded the contract to manage a new national cancer screening register from next year.”: Telstra wins contract to manage your health records.

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(May 25, 2016) Day 18 – Carping on with Barnaby

Tomato Barnaby Joyce

No wonder people across the world think Barnaby is about to explode with his recent performance in the Australian parliament yelling, “carp!” at the Labor Party. The new Deputy Prime Minister also aggressively attacked the opposition during question time by yelling, “disgusting, mud-sucking creatures!” in their direction. Now, in the ongoing saga over his dogs, Johnny Depp has told a US chat show that Joyce looks like he’s been crossed with a tomato and might explode.

Mal in Geelong

Labor candidates not allowed to wear uniforms

Labor candidate for Brisbane Pat O’Neill has been told by the Department of Defence to take down three billboards of him wearing his army uniform. However, there was no complaint when Liberal candidate Andie Hastie used his army career in the campaign for Canning.

Ten Eyewitness News: No problems for Liberal Andie Hastie but Department of Defence tells Labor’s Pat O’Neill to take it down.

Pauline Hanson

Pauline Hanson has popped up yet again for the election hoping to scrape enough votes together to make the senate. Whether to scare us or inspire, as perennial as the shock-polli herself, the media loves to trot out the story of her comeback at every election. Hanson last contested the 2015 Queensland election as a candidate for the seat of Lockyer.

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(May 23, 2016) Day 16 – Donations and the Mob

Mafia link to Liberals

From 2014, Nick McKenzie, Richard Baker and Royce Millar reported, “The suspected Mafia godfather of Melbourne helped bankroll a Liberal Party marginal federal seat campaign in the 2013 election, raising the prospect that the proceeds of crime have flowed into Liberal coffers.”: Libs take money off Mafia man.

From 2015, William PJ Kulich reported, “McMillan’s Liberal MP Russell Broadbent has said claims made by Fairfax and the ABC that he arranged meetings between Mafia figures and federal ministers are incorrect.”: Broadbent denies Mafia ties.

Palaszczuks respond to Dutton comments

Granddaughter of Polish refugees fleeing the Nazis, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has visited her home electorate of Inala with father Henry to respond to Federal Immigration Minister Peter Dutton’s comments that refugees are illiterate, take Australian jobs, live on welfare and use up Medicare. The pair also comment on the recent plan by SBS to film the next season of ‘Struggle Street’ in Inala. Brisbane’s LNP Mayor Graham Quirk has banned SBS from filming on council property which the premier supports.